Joel Gausten is a New England-based writer and musician.
Gausten has interviewed several notable musicians over the years, including Bill Ward of Black Sabbath, Gene Simmons and Eric Singer of KISS, Bruce Kulick of KISS/Grand Funk Railroad, Henry Rollins, Al Jourgensen of Ministry, Mike Ness of Social Distortion, James Williamson of The Stooges, Dave Lombardo of Slayer/PHILM, Carmine Appice, Rick Dufay of Aerosmith, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, Steven Adler of Guns N' Roses, Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins of Bauhaus/Love And Rockets, GWAR, Billy Sherwood of Yes/Asia, Michael Sweet of Stryper, Suzi Quatro, Lol Tolhurst and Reeves Gabrels of The Cure, Lita Ford, Joe Lynn Turner of Rainbow/Deep Purple, David Thomas of Pere Ubu, Josh Todd of Buckcherry, Buzz Osborne of The Melvins, Andy Rourke of The Smiths, Bernie Worrell, Dot Wiggin of The Shaggs, Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue, Jarboe of Swans, Nicholas Bullen of Scorn/Napalm Death, Midge Ure of Ultravox/Thin Lizzy, Billy Ray Cyrus, Steve Zing of Danzig/Samhain, Vinnie Moore of UFO, Dave Brock and Nik Turner of Hawkwind, Jimmy Destri of Blondie, Mark Slaughter of Slaughter/Vinnie Vincent Invasion, David Yow and Mac McNeilly of The Jesus Lizard, Valor Kand and Gitane DeMone of Christian Death, Johnny Temple of Girls Against Boys/Soulside, Roger Miret and Mike Gallo of Agnostic Front, Bill Laswell, Marky Ramone, Jaz Coleman and Youth of Killing Joke, Xzibit, Geddy Lee of Rush, Hugo Burnham and Andy Gill of Gang of Four, Richard Lloyd of Television, Yngwie Malmsteen, J Mascis, Hunt and Tony Sales of Tin Machine, Bob Daisley of Rainbow/Blizzard of Ozz, Adrienne Bailon of 3LW/The Cheetah Girls, Penny Rimbaud and Steve Ignorant of Crass, Tom Warrior of Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti of Throbbing Gristle, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge of Psychic TV/Throbbing Gristle, Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde and hundreds more.
Gausten's non-music interviewees include Congressman Barney Frank, Art Monk of the Washington Redskins, Playboy Playmate Pamela Horton, actress Candy Clark, TV star Chip Foose and model/actress Shannon Tweed.
Additionally, Gausten has worked as a White House-credentialed reporter, covering President Barack Obama for regional media in New England.
Gausten's books include Tales of Horror: The History of THE MISFITS & THE UNDEAD, Prong: The Early Years, The SABBATH Interviews and From Satan to Sabbath: The Metal Interviews 2000-2009. Gausten's upcoming books include Rock N Roll Monster: The Rik L Rik Story and Albums that (Should've) Changed the World. He was also a contributor to/editor for Martin Atkins’ best-selling 2007 book, Tour:Smart (alongside such notables as Henry Rollins and Steve Albini) and its 2018 followup, Band:Smart.
In 2014, Gausten's 2010 book From Satan to Sabbath: The Metal Interviews 2000-2009 was officially added to the library at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame & Museum in Cleveland, OH.
From 2010 to 2012, he hosted his own online radio show, Glory Is Noise, which included a mix of music and interviews with underground and mainstream recording artists.
A drummer since age 9, Gausten has played in a variety of bands, including Electric Frankenstein, The Undead (fronted by former Misfits guitarist Bobby Steele), The Sixth Chamber, Broken Heroes and The Graveyard School. His personal discography is comprised of nearly 50 releases as of January 2021.
In 1995, he rehearsed with The Misfits as a fill-in drummer and later appeared on a number of Misfits bootlegs recorded during these rehearsal sessions.
In 2001, he performed as a member of Pigface alongside (among others) Martin Atkins (Killing Joke), Chris Connelly (Revolting Cocks), Charles Levi (My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult), Chris Haskett (Rollins Band) and Meg Lee Chin.
In 2011, Gausten released a solo EP, Snake Bite Blues, which featured contributions from Pete Jones (Public Image Limited), Sonny Bellavance (The Devil’s Guitar) and Keith LeBlanc (Tackhead).
In November 2016, he returned to Pigface for two shows in Chicago (at Reggies and the House of Blues, respectively) in celebration of the group's 25th anniversary. In addition to Gausten, Pigface's extensive lineup for these performances included (among others) Martin Atkins, Charles Levi, Martin King (Test Dept), Fallon Bowman (Kittie), Greta Brinkman (Moby/L7/Debbie Harry/Jayne County), Gaelynn Lea, Groovie Mann and Kitty Killdare (My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult), Jim Marcus (Die Warzau/Go Fight) and En Esch (KMFDM).
In July 2018, he performed in London as a guest drummer for The Ladyboys, a band featuring fellow Pigface members Martin King, Meg Lee Chin and Roger Ebner and veteran bassist Roberto Soave (The Cure/The Associates/Shelleyan Orphan).
In November 2019, he again returned to Pigface for a performance in NYC to coincide with his 18th anniversary with the group. The evening's lineup also included Martin Atkins, Greta Brinkman, Charles Levi, En Esch, Randy Blythe (Lamb of God), Andrew Weiss (Rollins Band/Butthole Surfers), Mary Byker (Pop Will Eat Itself/Gaye Bykers on Aid), BobDog Catlin (Evil Mothers), Bradley Bills (Chant), Curse Mackey (Evil Mothers), Joe Letz (Combichrist), Orville Kline (Porn and Chicken) and Lesley Rankine (Ruby/Silverfish). A song from this show is featured on Pigface's Live 2019 double album released by Invisible Records in December 2020.
READ JOEL'S BIO
PURCHASE JOEL'S BOOKS
EMAIL JOEL at gaustenbooks@gmail.com
